If you’re always overwhelmed and feel all over the place, I’m sure you’re looking for tips on how to be an organized mom.
Whether you are a single or working mom, stay-at-home-mum mom, or home-schooling mum, being organized is one thing that would make a difference in your motherhood game.
The organization isn’t merely about making plans, drawing schedules, and having routines; it is about being more productive and less stressed out.
In this post, we shall discuss 15 tips on how to be an organized mom, focusing on aspects like an organized working mum schedule, how to be an organized working mom and how to stay organized as a single mom.
We will also consider how to be an organized stay at home mom, how to be an organized home school mom and lots more. But first, let’s see why being organized is important as a Mum.
Why You Need To Be An Organized As A Mum
You may wonder why I need to be an organized mom. Why all the stress of schedules, making plans and creating a system you work with?
Here is why being an organized mum is important. Organizing things will help you become more productive with your time, energy, and resources.
You will achieve less if you do things without proper planning and organization. Before becoming a mother, I didn’t have a daily schedule. But motherhood taught me that if I wanted to remain sane and achieve anything, I had to get organized.
It wasn’t easy adapting at first, but it is worth every time and energy I have put into getting organized. Being organized will also minimize stress, chaos, anxiety, and the many other issues that come with a disorganized life. It also helps you teach your kids valuable skills.
How To Be An Organized Working Mum
Working mums know that balancing work and family life is a tall order. Sometimes staying organized can seem impossible because you have so much to do and hardly any free time.
Being organized as a working mum is essential, or you will face stress and burnout. As hard as it may seem, achieving organization as a working mum is possible.
Once you have outlined your plans, you can create systems to help you achieve your goals. Here are some tips to help you achieve an organized working mum routine
1. Have goals (family and work goals) that you intend to achieve within a time frame.
2. Make weekly and daily plans in line with these goals
3. Write them out on paper or a notepad and draw out diary to-do lists
4. Fix your daily plans into your schedules, giving them time to achieve each
5. Teach your kids how to draw out programs that should be in line with their goals and the family’s goals
6. Organize your space at home and work
7. On free days, pre-cook several meals and deep freeze them for later
8. Buy things in bulk to avoid frequent shopping
9. Cut off distractions
10. Prepare the kid’s stuff and yours the night before
12. Wake up earlier than others
13. Delegate duties at home and work
14. Claim your day by sticking to routines
15. Focus on finishing up your tasks at work, minimize bringing work home
16. Make time for the kids, your partner, and your family
17. Make time for self-care
How To Stay Organized As A Single Mom
Staying organized as a single mom can be tricky. Sometimes you may not have the zeal to carry on as the responsibilities are overwhelming.
Yes, motherhood is tasking but being a single mom is way tougher, especially if you are with the kids and do not get the most support from your kid’s father.
Staying organized as a single mom will be difficult if you do not have structures in place. Let’s see some organized mom methods that can help single moms stay organized.
1. Do not work without a plan. Have plans drafted out and organized into your schedule
2. Form routines; morning, evening, and night routines for you and the kids
3. Do not procrastinate
4. Avoid distractions; rather, work with focus and a goal
5. Do not overcommit
6. Avoid doing too much or too little, and ensure that you make achievable plans
7. Delegate duties at home and school
8. Know when to say No
9. Seek help when your tasks become too overwhelming
10. Do not forgo self-care
11. Do not overwhelm yourself self with the things you haven’t got; instead, focus on the good
12. Have structures in place
How To Be An Organized Stay-At-Home Home Mom
Stay-at-home moms do not sit at home and do nothing but cook and clean. Though they do work regular 9 to 5 jobs, they may work, be into business or do any remote job. For remote jobs ideas for stay-at-home moms, read all about them here.
Yes, stay-at-home moms do have some more free time than working moms because they have flexible timing, but this doesn’t mean they are not engaged with many tasks.
The key to being productive as a stay-at-home mom is time management. If you do not know how to be organized and manage your time effectively as a stay-at-home mom, you may achieve nothing in a whole day.
Let’s see some tips on how to be a more organized stay-at-home mom:
1. Make monthly, daily, and weekly plans
2. Create a schedule with a time frame to complete your plans
3. Have routines that you live by
4. Wake up before others
5. Prepare early for the day the same way you will do if you are a working mum
6. Avoid distractions
7. Delegate duties
8. Know when to stay No
9. Make time for self-care
10. Allot time frame for all your tasks
How To Be An Organized Home-School Mom
If you home-school your kids, try out these tips on how to be an organized home school mom.
1. Have goals periodic goals that you aim to achieve in your home school curriculum
2. Make daily and weekly goals to achieve them
3. Work with schedules and routines but be ready to make some changes
4. Be focused
5. Avoid distractions
6. Find ways to make learning interesting and fun
7. Use other avenues for teaching, like outdoor trips, camping, etc., to teach
8. Find ways to organize your home school using electronic apps, space-saving devices, home school planners, etc.
9. Be in charge
10. Delegate duties
11. Avoid complex home school planners.
15 Ways To Be An Organized Mum
We’ve pointed out simple tips for various scenarios for you to stay organized as a mom whether working, stay-at-home or remote working moms. In this section, we go into greater details on how to handle organization as a mom.
These are tips that will apply no matter your situation or scenario, so please take the time to got through this section.
1. Plan Meals
The time it takes to prepare meals is what takes up the bulk of our time as a mom, so we need an effective meal plan to stay organized.
With effective meal planning, you ensure that the family eats an adequate diet, and you will have time for other essential items. Meal planning starts with writing down those foods that are favorites in your home.
In my family, we eat rice every other day, so it is one of the main meals on our food timetable. Next, find other foods you can include in your diet besides the favorites.
The whole family can come together to draw up a meal timetable, or you can plan out different meals for the week based on the food list you have made. Next, shop for the necessary things you do not have at home.
You may want to consider buying only some items in bulk (like non-perishables) as you may not have the time to always shop for food.
On days when you won’t go to work, like Saturdays or Sundays, or when you are less busy, prepare meals that can last for a while. You can precook stews, soups, and beans and blend tomatoes and freeze.
When you need them, you only need to defrost and heat them, with this way, preparing meals will be faster and easier. This is how to be an organized mom and wife.
2. Make Monthly, Weekly, And Daily Plans
The key to being organized as a single mom or staying organized as a stay-at-home mom or working mom is planning. You will always have one or two things left unfinished duties that you will attend to.
To avoid feeling frustrated and overwhelmed with office work and house chores, it would be best if you planned how the month, each week in the month, and each day in the week would be. As you plan, think of your goals for the month and write them out.
There is a thing about writing things on pen and paper. It helps declutter your mind and gives you that ease like you achieved 20% of your tasks.
Next, plan ways on how you intend to achieve the goals, write out as to-do lists and fix them into your daily and weekly schedules.
For example, if you are a stay-at-home, and you have these plans outlined for the week:
Laundry, meeting with your book club, getting your hair trimmed and your nails done, kid’s school meeting with parents at school and child’s game.
You can decide to fix laundry first in your schedule for the week, the next trimming of hair and nails, meet with your book club may come middle and the week, then attend the meeting at school and child’s game.
Plan all your activities to revolve around fixed schedules like your book club meeting and school meeting and child’s game day.
Learn to write out every one of your plans, even up to the littlest things like the kind of hair you want to make or the design of your nails. It may seem unnecessary, but it helps.
As you plan, draft out an organized working mom schedule and structure your plan around it. This way, you work smarter, feel more focused and positive, and you are accountable to yourself if you are a slip-up.
3. Set Up An Organized Working Mom Routine
Whether you are a single mom, stay-at-home mom, or a manager at your city’s leading bank, you need an organized working mom routine to claim your day.
Once have drawn out your monthly, weekly, and daily plans, you need to fix these plans into your daily to-do list. Allot a time limit for each plan so that you be organized. This way, you will achieve your daily goals.
Before you draw an organized mom schedule, write out your plans for the day in a to-do list and allot time for each. Do not forget to add rest and “me time” into your schedule.
Go over the plans and mentally picture how each fits into the schedule. Make changes and adjustments where necessary, and then write them down.
Make the next day’s schedule on the eve before. It is preferable because it saves you some extra time you would have spent drawing up a schedule.
Remember, plans are effective when they are time-bound. Do not place with too many activities, with insufficient time for rests. Check the post on Moms Morning Routine for practical tips on how to draw out a schedule here.
4. Practice Consistency
Finding how to be an organized mum? Then practice consistency. Our habits form our everyday life patterns, which we sometimes do without thinking.
Those who record success may not necessarily be better than their counterparts who failed; they were more determined and consistent with plans and schedules.
If you are not consistent in carrying with your schedule, you will not be organized, mum, because consistency is what will help you perfect the art.
So, suppose you have to make sacrifices of waking up earlier than usual, spending lesser time lazing around, or becoming more disciplined in cooking nutritious meals. In that case, you have to be consistent in all these to achieve your goal.
5. You Have To Build Your Mindset
Your consistency and determination, along with your mindset all matters.
If you are always pessimistic, lack focus, surround yourself with negative people who are lazy or always complain or find who to blame, you will never want to fight hard and be that woman you want to be and will end up living the life you do not desire.
So, rewire your mind as the achiever you want to be. Even when you make some slip-ups, correct your mistakes and keep on the right track.
Avoid thoughts like “I am lazy”, “ I can’t be a good mom,” “I can never be organized”, or “ Disorganization is part of what makes me a mother”.
6. Avoid Stress
Avoiding stress is a key tip on how to be an organized mother. Planning an organization is not always about work, work, work. Instead, it involves balancing work, your family, self-care, friendship, passions, and other things that matter in your life.
Balancing all these things is indeed a tall order, as sometimes, we do not get to achieve or get everything we want to do.
Knowing how to balance work, rest and play are very important because you can burn out if you pack too much into your schedule. So, make time to rest, connect with your inner self, and build relationships and family bonds.
7. Delegate Duties
You are the mom, an organizer, a woman, a wife. You do a lot in and outside the home. Because you have a huge role to play in the house does not mean you should be responsible for everything in the home.
As you have roles and responsibilities, so do those of every other home member. While doing your part, ensure that you delegate functions to other home members. This is how to be an organized mum.
As you draw out a schedule for yourself, please make this an opportunity to teach your kids how to plan a schedule and draw out their weekly and daily schedules so they are part of the plan.
This can also make them learn to be organized early in life and be independent. Teaching your kids how to draw schedules will teach them practical organizational skills.
This way, the task is shared and doesn’t become too much of a burden for only you. Making other members of the home part of the duties will also help you have time to do essential things in life.
It also allows you to teach your kids to learn valuable skills, like shopping, laundry, cooking, etc. You can learn about other social skills you can teach your kids here.
If you are a single mom with young kids or your partner doesn’t live nearby, doing all the planning and organization in the home may be hard.
You can ask friends and family for help, or if you have the means, you can get paid labor when the work becomes too overwhelming.
8. Prepare The Night Before
Preparing the activities for the next day the night before is an effective tip on how to be an organized mum.
As I mentioned earlier when preparing schedules, draw up your plans for the next day so you can have a mental picture of how the day will run.
When you have done that, start preparations for the next day’s activities after you have finished your daily task. When you have drawn out the next day’s tasks, start by arranging some things you will need.
You may begin by telling the kids to prepare their shoes, socks, bag, lunch boxes and water bottles for the next day. You can also fix your clothes, shoes, and jewelry for the next day.
Clean the dishes and arrange them. Think of what meal you should be for breakfast and get all the ingredients ready; then, you can rest for the night.
The next day, you only need to start working on your already planned schedule, and because you have prepared beforehand, it would be easier to handle your mom’s morning routine.
9. Wake Up Before The Kids
Another vital tip on how to be an organized mom is to waking earlier than everyone in the home.
This can be difficult, especially if you are used to waking up late or if your kids are early risers, but this method would make a huge difference as you plan your day.
The extra 30mins or 1 hour you get when you wake up before the other family members can give you time to organize your thoughts together, say your prayers and meditate, exercise, and start the day’s work.
But, if you wake up at the same time as your kids, the chances are that you will become unsettled and unorganized as the kids will distract you and delay your plans.
Imagine waking up to your toddler’s cry and taking about 10 to 15 mins to calm him down. You may later find it hard to organize your thoughts and plan for the day. If when you try to draft out a plan, it won’t be as effective as when you do it without distractions.
10. Find What Works For You And Stick To It
There is no perfect formula for how to be an organized mom, as every mom’s lifestyle, job, tasks, and choices differ. It is best to find how best you work organized and stick to it.
You may be a single mom, a working mom, a home-schooling mom, or a stay-at-home mom. Your schedule will differ from others, so find your style and balance and stick to it.
Do not copy another mom’s method just because you see it working for her. She may be active during the day and have a full-time job. Meanwhile, you are a stay-at-home mom. If you see that your current method is not working, then it’s time to try another path.
11. Organize Your Space
Another useful tip on how to be an organized mom is to organize your space because unused items cause clutter that could be irritating and distracting.
How can you find peace and order in the home when there are loads of mismatched shoes, misplaced keys, and unfolded laundry? It would be really difficult. So, if you find ways how to be organized, start by organizing your space.
Plan time to arrange old toys, shoes, clothes, and utensils that you won’t be using anytime soon. You can store them in the attic, donate them or make a yard sale.
Find space-saving gadgets like a wardrobe where you can store more than one thing In the same place. Ensure that you involve the kids when arranging so that you can keep more than one thing in the same place.
Include the kids in this arrangement to locate where each item is stored. Label boxes or wardrobes so your kids can quickly identify what is for what. When you are done, you will enjoy your home’s new look.
Organizing your space will save you the stress of looking for and arranging things. You will love the new look, making your life easier.
12. Prepare For The Unexpected
A good organizer knows that no matter how well you plan and organize, things may not go how you have designed. So, how to be an organized mum is by getting ready for delays, unexpected changes in plans, and downtime.
Instead of feeling so frustrated when things do not go as you want, prepare your mind and make plans B’s, even C’s if necessary. Also, take time for breaks in your schedule. This way, you will have the energy to push ahead to achieve your goals.
13. Prioritize
You will always have a lot on your plate as a mother; if you do not learn how to prioritize, you will always feel frustrated. When you write down your daily task, arrange them on your schedule in priority.
The most pressing and essential tasks should come early while you still have a burst of energy, but low-priority tasks may come up later and be done in a shorter time frame.
When you can successfully plan your routine this way, you will see that you feel more like an achiever, and even if you do not achieve all your plans for the day, you still feel like you have achieved something.
Be careful not to overstuff your schedule with too many “high-priority tasks .”It will leave you over-exhausted and underachieved.
14. Use Lists
As they say, the sharpest pencil is better than the fastest memory. A vital trick to how to be an organized mom is writing down your thoughts, plans, and goals.
Writing things is way better than keeping mental notes because you may easily forget. Lists out all your plans for the day on paper or an electronic pad, list the things you intend to get when shopping, and make a to-do list of all you have to do at work.
Writing things down helps to stimulate your thinking capacity and makes you become a better planner.
It also makes you more organized because you can arrange your list in order of priority, and as you tick off the things you have done, you will be happy that you have achieved something.
15. Keep Distractions At Bay
Distraction is one of the greatest thieves of time. Spending hours on the phone, on social media, and surfing the Web may be what takes most of your time and leaves you unfulfilled each day.
So how to be an organized mom is by identifying those things that easily distract you and finding ways to avoid them.
It could be your neighbors, social media, or TV; these things are not bad, but they can make you lose focus, preventing you from achieving your goals for the day.
Conclusion
If you often deal with disorganization, I want you to know that no matter how terrible it is or overwhelming, you can always sort it out.
You won’t get it perfect so try as long as you need and ask for help when you need it. It might take time but you’ll get there.
As a bonus tip, do you know if you strive towards organization, your children will imitate you and this can make organizing easier? I hope you found these tips useful.
Don’t forget to save this for later!
